Chapter Six
774 Words
At around three that afternoon, he had managed to settle down and concentrate. His wife’s words and the malice in those eyes no longer haunted him. He simply decided to bother with Vanessa’s loathing another time. The phones were quieter now, and finally, he made some progress where he had been lacking and slipping all day.
But another storm was about to head his way. Down in the lobby, Daphne Stein arrived in a hurry, a vexed expression on her face, and she was set on a power march. She briskly marched past the reception desk, practically snarling at the receptionist for daring to speak to her. She took the express elevator to Alexander’s floor and marched to his office.
“He’s busy,” Sarah snapped, walking around her desk and intercepting Daphne’s power march. The latter scowled, pushing Sarah to the side.
“Stupid peasant. Out of my way.”
“Hey-”
Daphne did not listen to Sarah, continuing on her march, pausing briefly at the door to compose herself before going into Alexander’s office. He paused in his typing, glancing up at the disgruntled woman standing before him.
“Have you been on Twitter, recently?” she asked, her voice significantly softer and gentler as she opted for the troubled, distressed mistress gimmick.
“No. Did someone important die or something? What’s so controversial on Twitter?”
Daphne cried in outrage, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she fished out her mobile and pulled up the tweet. It had been retweeted countless times, had hundreds of comments, if not thousands, and quite a few people had tagged her and Alexander.
She showed him the tweet, watching as he frowned, and how it deepened, turning to one of outrage. Alexander snapped his head up to look at her, anger blazing in his hazel eyes. However, before he could ask, Daphne spoke, her tears flowing freely now as she shrieked in outrage and hysteria.
“It’s Nessie! She did this to get back at us. Alex, I’m scared. What if she does something to hurt us? I gave you to her, so why is she doing this? I know Nessie loves you and she only said what she did this morning because she’s mad at us for what we did last night.” Daphne paused amidst her ranting and hysteria as if coming to a realization.
Alexander had gotten up from his chair and made his way over, gently taking her by the shoulders. “Daph-”
“We need to break up for good, Alex. It’s the only way to stop Nessie. She won’t stop unless she has you all to herself. She’s obsessed with you and will do just about anything to separate us. It’s why she violated the gag order and broke the news – I don’t know to who, but she knew the press would eat this up!”
“Nonsense! Daph, I’m not breaking up with you. Not now, not ever. Vanessa has no idea what she’s dealing with, and I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to protect you. Vanessa won’t be able to touch you.”
“You promise? Oh, Alex! Promise me you won’t let her separate us. I love you so much, and I don’t think I’ll be able to ever live without you.”
“Stop saying such things, silly,” Alexander reprimanded gently, chuckling at Daphne’s hysteria. He had no idea why she was so worried about Vanessa Stein – the outcasted and forgotten daughter of Patrick and Eloisa Stein. He pulled Daphne against him and kissed her passionately on the lips.
“I love you, Daphne Stein. I once made a promise to you, and I intend to see it through. Vanessa will rue the day she decided to come between us.”
Daphne smiled up at him. “Okay, then. I trust you.”
Daphne stayed with Alexander for the remainder of the time he spent in the office. She sat on the couch in his office that was jammed against the wall to his left, scrolling through social media while he worked in relative silence as they spoke on and off. When Alexander left the office, it was just after six and he agreed to take Daphne out for dinner as a way of calming her nerves after the Twitter debacle.
He knew for sure that when he got home, he would be having a nice chat with his wife to remind her of the importance she held in his life.
Which was none. He promised to make this despicable woman pay for hurting Daphne, again.
- Writer
